Spirit Animals - The Ten Keepers: The Lost Talisman of Ursala [Book Two]

Chapter Twenty Five - Silence

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George's POV

Since there was no path in front of them and it was only darkness, Haley found another tunnel which they took.

"Like I said before, there were three wards of protection around the Evertree," Haley was saying, "One was the Arachane Fields which we completely destroyed. The next is the Sulfur Sea which is like a moat that surrounds the Evertree. Usually, we would use a boat to cross the sea but i'm not sure what happened to the people who were there..."

George placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Everything will be okay once we find this talisman. Let's just face one problem at a time."

Just then, John had stumbled. He had been growing weaker because of parasite and he didn't stop stumbling. He couldn't see his face as George quickly rushed to his side to help him up. Just then, John had quickly risen up and had put both his hands on George's neck, pinning him to the wall with such strength. John's eyes were blank as his grip on George tightened. George struggled to free himself but John was too strong.

"J-John," George managed to choke out, his vision getting blurrier.

Just then, the pressure was released and George took lungful of breaths. Eilene had pushed him out the way and John was panting on the ground, his eyes wide with horror. The others were around him, looking at him with worry.

"George, are you okay?" Haley asked, worriedly.

George just nodded but he was badly shaken. John, his own brother, almost choked him to death. He glanced at John, unsure if he was seeing his brother or a monster. John was looking at him with fear, guilt, and shame.

"I-I didn't m-mean to," John stammered, "George i'm s-so sorry."

"It's fine," George replied shakily, "It's not your fault."

But he wasn't convinced. They all knew that it's not fine.

Irene's POV

No one talked ever since their encounter with Zerif. Ever since that, Ivan had stayed cooped inside his room. Sometimes, Jef or Riley would come to visit or give food. They were all out on the deck, just staring as the sun went down. Of course Ivan wasn't there. No one knew what to say as they just stood there in silence. It was not a happy day.

Irene recalled Ivan's heroic act by pushing Riley away only to be bitten by Uraza. She glanced at Riley who was deep in thought. Out of all of them, Riley and Jef were the ones who were affected the most.

Irene sighed, "What do we do now?"

No one answered for a while for no one really knew the answer.

Then unexpectedely, Riley spoke, "We need to keep finding the talisman. It's our only hope to save the Evertree and to save Erdas. To save Ivan and those who are infected."

Irene was surprised for Riley always had a hard time trusting if Eilene was telling the truth. But now she was telling them it was their only hope.

"She's right," Jef nodded, "We need to trust that Lin is right. We need to work together now if we're going to stop Zerif. To stop the Wrym."

"We need to sail to the Place of Desolation," this time, Abeke spoke, "And hopefully I won't regret trusting the Redcloaks."

"You won't," Shane promised, "because we will never betray anyone anymore. And that's a promise."

Eilene's POV

They've been walking through the caves for a long time when the caves started to slant downwards. Last time she checked, the parasite passed the base of John's neck and was making its way up. She recalled their talk that night.

"I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want to turn into one of the Many. Please, you need to stop me. Just promise me you will stop me."

"We'll find the talisman before you turn."

"What if you don't find it in time?"

"Then i'll stop you... I'll do it myself..."

She closed her eyes. Just the thought of trying to stop John is already killing her. She wasn't sure if she could even do it. She promised she would do it but she wasn't even sure.

"Eilene, are you okay?" Hope's voice cut through her thoughts.

She hadn't noticed that she had stopped. The others were looking at her worriedly, wondering why she had stopped. At first, she didn't say anything.

"I'm...," her voice trailed off.

She couldn't say she was fine. It wasn't the truth.

"Eilene?" Hope asked again, "Is there something wrong? Are you okay?"

"No," Eilene choked out then kept on walking.

She took a shaky breath as she kept her head low. She didn't want to cry. The only time she cried was when her mother and father died. She shook her head. As long as John keeps fighting it, there is always hope. She was not going to give up and she will make sure they won't as well.

That was a sad chapter. The next two chapters... Just be prepared. Please vote and leave a comment on what you guys think. Stay tuned for the next chapter!